How SHOULD We Shop For Food?

Food Miles, the huge market power of the Coles-Woolies supermarket duopoly, and what we can do about this in our weekly food shopping, are topics being scrutinised fairly closely in some thinking parts of Melbourne – as I’m sure they are elsewhere. What’s happening in your region?

Here are a few things happening in Melbourne:

1. At The Sustainable Living Festival

Your Dollar is Your Vote! Who Did You Vote for Today?

The Sustainable Living Festival runs from Fri 15 February – Sunday 17 at Fed Square. On Saturday from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in the Feast Tent the Ethical Consumer Group will ask festival goers to consider:

“With each dollar you spend, you are endorsing a company who has either a positive effect, or a negative effect on our environment, our community and human health.You won’t, however, find the social or environmental track record of the companies behind your favourite brands on the product label.

Who are the multinationals that control our food? Out of the top 100 brands sold in Australian supermarkets, just 15 are Australian owned, and these are owned by just 10 companies. 85% of a typical family shop goes to foreign-owned companies.

What is their track record, and what activities does your purchasing dollar endorse when you do your weekly shop? The largest global food company has been blacklisted with a boycott call for the best part of the last 30 years.

How can we reclaim corporate accountability? What actions can we, the everyday consumer, take in being responsible for the impact of our purchases and their wider affect on the world?”

2. Food-Facts, Fads And Fables – Women’s Health Day 5 March 2008

Run by Warrandyte Neighbourhood House this program will address:

• The minefield of ‘advice’ about the right sort of food with help from Keoni Moore a registered Naturopath with Warrandyte’s ‘Meridian Wellness’
• Organic vs mass produced food – what IS the difference? Sam Staley owner of fruit and vegie shops ‘Dynamic Vegies’ will put the case for the importance of eating chemical free food
• The 100K diet and the trend to buying local. As a community blogger I will give an overview of PWF articles on the 100K diet, supermarket shopping and we will show SEED International’s ‘Think Global, Eat Local – A Diet For A Sustainable Society’.

3. Warrandyte CAN [Climate Action Now]

This local action group in its third free community information night Thursday 21 February – at the Anderson Creek Primary School Hall (Melway ref 35 B3) 7.30pm-9pm – will focus on ‘Food Miles’. There will be info about:

• reducing food miles, which along with buying 100% accredited Green Power, is a simple, immediate action we can all take to reduce carbon emissions
• daily choices about the food we eat, especially when shopping, and the outcome of these choices is crucial to reducing carbon emissions…the ultimate being to become fully sustainable and ‘grow your own’

There will be three presenters:

• Food Miles Sophie Gaballa, from Ceres will speak on this topic, she is
  the co-author of a report on Food Miles in Australia, focused on Melbourne
• GM Foods and Growing your own organic produce Greg Revell from Gene
  Ethics will enlighten us on the role that Genetically Modified food plays in
  threatening the future of our food, biodiversity and the environment. He
  will also speak on growing your own food at home
• The UN Climate Change conference – Bali Adrian Whitehead from Beyond Zero
  Emissions will give deliver an overview of the conference

Everyone is welcome. Enquiries: Wayne Rankin 03 9844 1959

4. Manningham City Council’s Get Climate Wise Workshop Program

‘Food Miles and Product Recycling – Rethinking our Energy Use’ is one of an eight part series of free info sessions run monthly by an enlightened council. This one is scheduled for May 22, 6.45pm – 9pm at Council Chambers 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster. Bookings essential. Contact Kay Toussaint T: 03 9840 E: eepadmin@manningham.vic.gov.au.